This invention relates generally to the field of portable container assemblies and, more particularly, to portable container assemblies having integral wringing mechanisms for wringing liquid out of a mop.
The use of portable container assemblies, including bucket-like containers, in connection with various cleaning activities is well known in the art. Typically, such assemblies include a bucket-like container that defines a reservoir for holding cleaning solutions or other liquids. Such container assemblies often include wheels or casters to facilitate movement of the container assembly across various surfaces.
In general, mop wringers are also known in the art. Conventional mop wringers are positionable on the rim or edge of a side wall of a bucket-like container, and include a hopper that is designed to receive a mop head. Generally, these mop wringers are adapted for engagement with the mop head in a manner for wringing liquid from the mop head and into the reservoir. Typically, mop wringers include one or more press members or press "plates" that engage the mop head in a manner to "squeeze" liquid therefrom. Commonly, these mop wringers include a lever arm that is operatively connected to one of the press members. Movement of the lever arm effectuates movement of the press member toward and against the mop head to squeeze liquid from the mop head.
Conventional mop wringers are constructed independently of their associated containers and, in general, are not integral with the containers. Rather, these prior art mop wringers typically include a pair of generally parallel flanges that extend downwardly from the body of the wringer, each of the flanges having a generally vertical slot adapted to receive the upper edge of the rim of the container to which the wringer is to be mounted. These vertical slots allow the user to mount the wringer to the container by resting the wringer on the rim of the container with the rim received within the slots. The wringer is removable from the container by simply lifting the wringer upwardly from the rim.
Although the container assemblies and mop wringers described above have proven to be useful and functional, certain shortcomings prevent them from representing an ideal solution. A problem with conventional container assemblies is that the mop wringers and the containers themselves may become separated from one another and, consequently, one or the other may be misplaced. Another problem with container assemblies having separable mop wringers is instability of the mop wringer. In most applications, a substantial amount of force is required to wring liquid from the mop head and, accordingly, the lever arm of the wringer must be long enough to provide sufficient leverage. As described above, many prior art mop wringers are mounted to their associated containers by simply resting the wringer on the rim of the container with the rim received within the U-shaped slots of the wringer. When substantial forces are applied to the lever arm, this mounting arrangement may be unstable and, therefore, unsafe. Noise is another problem with conventional mop wringers that are not integral with their associated containers. Loose wringers tend to rattle or bang against the container while in use or in transport.